Now more than ever, we’ve been making use of hand sanitisers to keep our hands germ-free and to reduce the spread of COVID-19. At the moment, our supply levels deplete at a much faster rate, but instead of chucking your bottle out and buying a new one, why not refill it with a natural lemon myrtle hand sanitiser that you can easily make at home?

Lemon myrtle farmers from Australian Native Products have come up with a DIY recipe for an all-natural, anti-bacterial hand sanitiser. The high levels of ‘Citral’, a liquid occurring in citrus and lemongrass oils that acts as the perfect ingredient for sanitises as it contains strong antibacterial properties.

Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Lisa Yates, notes that “the essential oil has strong antimicrobial activity against a number of common bacteria found in our homes such as E. coli and staph,” and can even be effective against noroviruses like gastro, herpes, and yellow fever.

Previously used by Indigenous Australians for thousands of years for both food and as a steriliser, the beautifully fragrant citrus flavour is extremely effective in ridding bacteria and is the perfect solution to re-filling your empty sanitiser bottles and playing your part in reducing plastic waste.

“people can make their own hand sanitiser using the natural antimicrobial properties of the leaf while at the same time also reusing all those empty plastic hand sanitiser bottles that are slowly filling up bins across the country,”

said Australian Native Products CEO, James Gosper

How is the lemon myrtle hand sanitiser made?

The leaves are left to distill in an essential oil, which is then added to isopropyl alcohol to make it an effective sanitiser.

You’ll need:

• 1/3 cup 100% aloe vera gel
• 2/3 cup rubbing alcohol
• 2ml or 20 drops lemon myrtle essential oil

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir and using a small funnel, refill an empty hand sanitiser container.
2. Be clean and enjoy the fresh fragrant scents of the Australian bush.

With an increasing demand for its essential oil for food, drink, cosmetics and general household cleaning products, Queensland farmers have had to process 95% of its harvest into essential oil, with further plans of producing around 300 litres of lemon myrtle essential oil by the end of June.

Would you try out this natural hand sanitiser? Let us know in the comments.

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